Torsion bar laundry wringers



y 1957 F. R. SIBBALD TORSION BAR LAUNDRY WRINGERS 3 Sheets$heet 1 Filed Feb. 16. 1956 F. R. SIBBALD TORSION BAR LAUNDRY WRINGERS July 23, 1957 Filed Feb. 16, 1956 fie. 3

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July 23, 1957 F R. SIBBALD TORSION BAR LAUNDRY WRINGERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 16, 1956 United States TORSION BAR LAUNDRY WRINGERS Frederick Roy Sibbald, Perivale, Greenford; England, as-

signor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio The present invention relates to power driven clothes wringers and more particularly to clothes wringers having a push bar release mechanism by which the rolls may be separated in case clothes should become entangled therein or for releasing the tension on'the rolls when the wringer is not in use.

According to the present invention the upper roll carrier may be manually released for pivotal movement away from the bottom roll carrier or' automatically released for such movement responsive to a predetermined separation of the rolls shouldclothes or'other fabrics become bunchedtoo thickly or a foreign'object such: as the arm or hand of the operator become caught between the rolls. In either case the rolls may be easily manually retensioned;

The invention is particularly adaptedfor-usewith a wringer having upper and lower roll carrying frames pivoted together at the rear by a torsion spring which applies pressure to the rolls. In such an arrangement the rolls are separated widely and it is easy to unfoul the wringer of any clothes or other fabrics which may have become entangled therein.

According to the present invention a push bar extends across the front of the wringer immediately above junction'of the rolls so that clothes may be easily'inserted 'between the rolls and at the same time it is convenient to use in that it is a vsimple matter topush upwardly on the push bar to release the pressure on the rolls.

According tothe present invention the push bar is pivotally mounted on the frame carrying the upper roll and has a roller which is normally located beneath a torsion arm extending forwardly from the torsion bar to apply pressure to the rolls. A slight upward push. on the push bar will move the roller from beneath the end of the torsion spring and release the pressure on the rolls. The push bar is so positioned that should the operator become caught and be pulled forwardly thenatural instinct of pushing against the wringerwill release the pressure on the rolls.

Additionally, the arrangement is such that should the rolls become separated a predetermined extent due to any cause the push bar will be raised to release the pressure on the rolls.

According to another feature of the present invention the push bar is adjustably mounted inorder to, provide for manufacturing tolerances.

Other objectsand advantages of thepresent invention willbecome apparentas the description. proceeds when takenin connectiomwiththe accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the wringer of the present invention in open position and partly broken away to show the arrangement of parts,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of one end of the wringer of the present invention in closed position and with parts broken away to show how the push bar is mounted,

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the wringer of Fig. 1,

atent ice Fig. 4'is a. sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows and partly broken away to show the manner in which the lower roll is mounted,

Fig. 6 is a perspective segmental view showing one manner by which the rolls may be automatically released and,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing another manner by which the rolls may be automatically released.

Referring to drawings the reference numeral 10 represents the wringer as a whole and comprises a lower frame 11 and an upper frame 12 pivoted to'each other at 13 so that the upper frame may be raised upwardly to separate the frames from each other and separate the rolls 14and 15'which are rotatably carried by thelower and upper frames 11 and 12 respectively. The manner of mounting the rolls 14 and'15 forms no part of the present invention and need not be described in detail except to point out that the rolls are power driven by suitable shafts and 'gearing froni a power take oif connection 16. The lowerframe 11 may be mounted on a washing machine in any manner well known in the art.

The pivotal connection 13 between'the frames 11 and 12 comprises a torsion bar 17 'rigidlyattached at one end to an'arm 18 having a bifurcated end 19. A bolt extends through the bifurcated end 19 of arm 18 and is threaded'into the lower frame 11 whereby a twist may be applied to the torsion bar 17 in a manner which will presently appear.

The torsion bar 17 is provided with a forwardly extending torsion arm 21 resting on anvil 22 positioned on the top of the lower frame 11.

In assembling the lower and upper frames 11 and 12 the torsion bar is inserted through the lugs vprojecting upwardly and downwardly from the frames 11 and 12 with the arm 21 resting on the anvil 22. The arm 18 is then rigidly attached to the torsion bar 17 at its free end so that the bifurcated end 19 is positioned somewhat above the upper face of frame 11. The bolt 20 is then assembled into the bifurcated end 19 of arm 18 and threaded into thelower frame 11 so as to twist the torsion bar 17 and. force its torsionarm 21 against the anvil 22 under pressure.

A push bar is pivotally mounted on theupper frame 12 at its opposite ends as shown at 31- and 32 and carries a downwardly extending arm 33 having a roller 34 rotatably mounted thereon at its lower end. The parts are so arranged that when the roller 34 is positioned beneath the end of arm 21, the upper and lower frames 12 and 11 will be urged together so as to hold the rolls 14 and 15 in pressure contact with each other. The end of .arm 21 is rounded at 35 so that downward pressure on the push bar 30 will cause theroller 34 to engage the rounded end 35 and raise the arm 21 and twist the torsion bar 17 to place the requisite squeezing pressure on the rolls 14 and 15. A slight push upwardly on the bar 30 will re-. move the roller 34 from beneath the endof arm 21 and permit the upper frame 12 to snap upwardly in the position shown in Fig. 1 under the bias of torsion spring 36 which surrounds the bar 17 at the end upon which the arm 18 ismounted so as to constantly urge the frame- 12 upwardly to the. position shown in Fig. 1.

In order to compensate for manufacturing tolerances one end of the push bar 30 is mounted on an adjustable block 40 as shown in Fig. 2. The block 40 is mounted in a recess 41 formed in the upper frame 12. The recess 41 is formed with a ledge 42 which cooperates with an offset end 43 of block 40 to support the latter in its proper adjusted position, a plurality of shims 44 being provided for that purpose. The block 40 is slotted at 45 to re roller 34 is extended as shown in 51 so as to be positioned a predetermined distance beneatha cam 52 mounted on the anvil22. -V v V i i The block 40 and the corresponding pin is attached to the upper frame 12 while the torsion arm 21 and anvil 22 are carried by the lower frame 11 with the bar 21 exerting downward pressure on the anvil 22. i

As the rolls separate due to an obstruction of a bunch of'clothing or the arm of the operator; the frames 11 and 12 separate to a point where the end 51 of pin 50 will engage the cam 52 and pivot the push bar 30 outwardly and upwardly and remove the roller 34 from beneath the end of arm 21 and permit the upper frame 12 to swing upwardly under the bias of' spring 36 so thatthe parts assume the position shown in Fig. 1 with the rolls well separated and providing ample room for the removal of the obstruction from between the" rolls. When the obstruction is removed, pressure may be reapplied to the rolls by simply pushing downwardly on the push bar 30 whereby the roller 34 will engage the cammed end 35 of arm 21 to twist the torsion bar 17 and reapply the proper pressure to the rolls 14 and 15.

Another arrangement by which the rolls may be releasedupon separation thereof to a predetermined extent is shownby Fig. 7. The push bar 30 is pivoted to the upper frame 12 by a pintle 55 branching off from a downwardly and outwardly extending end 56 of the push bar 36' which engages with a protuberance 57 extending outwardly from the lower frame 11 into the path of movement of the end 56 as the rolls 14 and separate due to an unusual obstruction between them.

The engagement of the end 56 of the push bar with the protuberance 57 "will pivot the push bar 30 clockwise and remove the roller 34 from beneath the end of bar 21 and thus release the pressure on the rolls 14 or 15. Again, to re-establish the pressure of the rolls 14 and 15 it is only necessary to press downwardly on the push bar 30, re-engage the roller 34 beneath the end of the bar 21.

From the foregoing it may be seen that the present invention provides a novel arrangement by which pressure on the wringer rollsmay be established or released by a simple push bar arrangement in which the pressure on the rolls may be released either manually or automatically in response to a separation of the rolls to a predetermined extent. In either case the pressure on the rolls may be re-established in a most facile manner.

While I have shown but two embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that those embodiments are to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do no wish to be limited to the specific structure shown and described but wish to include all equivalent variations thereof except as limitedby the scope of the claims.

I claim: 1. A wringer comprising, upperand lower roll carrying frames pivoted to each other at their rear on an axis bar and placing it under a torsional stress, said means including a rigid arm extending forwardly from one end of said torsion bar and angularly disposed to the longitudinal axisthereof, said arm being adjustably fixed to said frame'for adjusting the torsion applied to said torsion bar, said torsion bar having a torsion arm at the opposite end thereof extending angularly thereto and overlying said lower frame and to which torsional downward pres sure is applied, a push bar manual release mechanism pivotally mounted on said upper frame on an axis substantially parallel to the pivot connection between said frames, a member rigid with said push bar normally engageable under pressure beneath the forward end of said torsion bar arm to transfer the downward pressure applied by said torsion bar to said upper frame and thus apply pressure to the rolls and means normally urging said upper frame upwardly to separate the rolls, said member being disengageable from said torsion arm by a slight upward pressure on said push bar to remove said member from beneath the end of said torsion bar arm and release the downward pressure applied to said upper frame where by said upper frame will swing upwardly to separate the rolls under influence of said last mentioned means.

2. A wringer according to claim 1 in which said member includes a roller to be positioned beneath the end of said torsion bar arm when pressure is who applied to said rolls and the end of said torsion bar arm is formed with an outwardly and upwardly formed cam surface whereby a downward push on said push bar will engage said roller with said cam surface and raise the end of said torsion arm and thus reapply pressure to said upper frame.

3. A wringer according to claim 2 including means on said push bar engageable with means on said lower frame when said frames have been separated a predetermined extent to pivot said push bar upwardly and move said member from beneath the end'of said torsion bar arm.

4. A wringer according to claim 2 including a pivot pin for supporting said roller and a cam element on said lower frame, said pivot pin being extended sidewardly' beneath said cam element whereby said pin extension will engage said cam element upon a predetermined separation of'said frame and move said push bar upwardly to move said member from beneath the end of said torsion bar arm.

5. A wringer according to claim 1 including means on said push bar engageable with means on said lower frame when said frames have been separated a predetermined extent to pivot said push bar upwardly and move said member from beneath the end of said torsion arm.

6. A wringer according to claim 1 including an extension of said push bar and a protuberance on said lower frame, said extension beingengageable with said protuberance upon separation of said frames to a predetermined extent to pivot said push bar upwardly and move said member from beneath the end of said torsion arm and thus release the pressure between said frames.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 157,364 Bell Dec. 1, 1874 229,129 Hershey June 22, 1880 2,181,316 Etten Nov. 28, 1939 

